Speechless; How Eldin lost his Voice
Category:Stories "Lets go." Said Normli, smiling, and faded sharply as if never there. Smiling grudgingly, Eldin 'Eldinloom' Stran prepared for the nauseous feeling he always got whenever a portal or summoning whisked him away. 'Damn Battlemasters. Why cannae they just fight closer to home?' He thought, as he felt the throb, the pulse of the magic sweeping inwards, clutching at him... ---- light. freezing heat. spinning. clutching at us... an empty field, yet full of red blooms of life. ---- Blinking sharply, Eldin struggled to hold himself still as his head spun, and watched Normli's retreating back as he made his way to the caves entrance. With a last look over his shoulder, he quickly mounted up and rushed away. Mastering himself, Eldin stumbled towards the cave's mouth, blinking once more in the harsh, tundra sunlight as the snowflakes alternately danced in the gentle breeze then seemed to slice through flesh like razorblades as the wind howled. Summoning Ramalam - his Stormpike War ram - and climbing on top seemed to take all his strength, but he pulled himself up. Muttering a word near it's long, majestic Horns, he sharply whacked the backside of the Ram, and began his gallop down the steep, barely paved mountain passages. Listening to the crackly, distorted voices over the Gnomish Voice Channel system, he decided to attempt to take Snowfall Graveyard... It sounded pretty deserted, and he knew that if the Alliance was to take advantage of the offering of renewed Life, he'd need to place his flag there and clear the area of any of the Horde. Steering Ramalam with a few nudges of the Horn, past the Alliance's first keep, he rode to Snowfall. The wind howling again, he peered up the slope to the Graveyard. Recoiling, as a flake was flung into his eye by the raging winds, he looked again, and saw three newly resurrected Hordies;an undead and two blood elves, marching down the slope, towards him. Blanching in terror, Eldin wrenched Ramalam's horns. With a cut-off grunt, Ramalam wrenched himself around and dashed into the foliage to one side. Reaching down to calm Ramalam, Eldin was hurled from his saddle as a minor dip in the ground threw his Ram off-balance. Landing sprawled on his front in the now-cracked ice and mud, Eldin twisted to see where Ramalam had got to, only to see it fleeing amongst the scraggy trees. Remembering himself, Eldin, turned back to the Slope... And saw Normli standing proudly, tormenting the Horders. Eldin watched dazedly as Normli charged at the three. One quickly vanished from view, the other two pulled back their hands in spell-casting gestures. Normli suddenly put on a burst of speed, slamming into the sides of one of the Undead as a plume of red flame erupted behind him. As Normli raised his blade to put an end to the mockery of life, it weakly waggled it's hands, and a black bolt of Mana soared into Normli, knocking him back as a fireball swerved majestically around, trying to follow it's target. Eldin shook his head, and fought his way back from his dazed state. Pulling himself to his feet, he whistled and clapped his hands, summoning his Black wolf, Duskal. Gesturing towards the Hordies and with a muttered "Get th' b*stards" to Duskal, he ran at the group, thinking not of the gun by his side. Duskal suddenly accelerated as he leapt on the Blood elf Magus, leaping and bearing the enraged Magus to the ground. Eldin finally remembered his gun, and fired one shot at the magus as he ran. But, as Duskal quickly returned the Magus to where he had just came from, Eldin's foot suddenly slid on a patch of hard ice, sending him flying along the ice at breakneck speeds. As Normli was engaged in a tough battle with the cowardly Warlock, chasing after the Forsaken one as it did everything to keep it's distance, Eldin suddenly ran out of ice as his metal helm hit the stone path, leaving deep gouges in both of them. Struggling to stand, he turned over as an unseen pressure forced his chest down. Slowly, almost tauntingly, a foot wavered into focus as a Blood elf leaned down over Eldin, knife to his throat. Unintelligible words flowed from the Elf's mouth as the Elf flipped the dwarf's beard up with the back of the knife and drew the dagger backwards. Eldin suddenly twisted, throwing the elf off as he reached for his gun, found it missing, and quickly swung his hands back to his Honed Voidaxe. Hefting the strangely heavy, glowing axe, he screamed a battle challenge and charged at the elf, forgetting Normli, Duskal and the Undead Warlock's presence as he fought in a Fury. Swinging the axe like a madman, he did not even attempt to parry the Rogue's blades, merely attempting to jump aside as the blades flicked towards him. Suddenly, the elf pivoted on one foot, driving his other heel into Eldin's chest even as Eldin's axe caught the Rogue's left arm. Landing once more on his back, he twisted to regain his footing. A blade hurtled towards him. Slicing through the base of his beard, the blade gouged a deep lump from Eldin's thick-set neck. A strangled, gurgling scream burst from Eldin's lips as he suddenly lost the strength even to support himself and crashed to the floor. The elf wasted no time; Suddenly upon him, the dagger scraping sparks along Eldin's chestplate as he brought it to his throat. Eldin closed his eyes, witnessing a blur of motion as a chunk of metal slammed into his would-be-murderer before the darkness enfolded him. ---- pain. blinding blackness. why won't they leave us? marred skies of crumpled blossoms, torn down by jealousy ---- Eldin woke to a dull throbs in his head and back, a sharp pain in his arm and a sharper pain in his neck. Reaching his hand to rub the splintering, burning pain that was his throat, a sudden resistance. Images and color flooded back in as his eyes opened. Normli, his helm off, holding his hand in mid-air. "Bleedin' heck... Eldin, you got me worried for a min." "Wha-" Eldin broke off with a strangled cry as his throat blossomed into exquisite pain. His voice wasn't right. "Don't speak. Put a bandage on your throat, but otherwise..." Normli shrugged. "Bu..." Eldin stopped, as his memory finally caught up. "Come on, Eldin... You're in the Cohort, lets get you back to the Guild hall or something." Eldin nodded weakly, as Normli helped him up and walked him to the door.